What you need to know first

This information is for veterinary professionals wishing to raise concerns about a veterinary nurse. Before you raise your concerns with us, please read the following.

Introduction

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) registers veterinary nurses to practise in the UK and regulates their conduct, primarily through the RCVSCode of Professional Conduct and through the investigation of concerns. Our aim is to act in the public interest by safeguarding the health and welfare of animals and ensuring proper standards of conduct in veterinary practice.

Generally, veterinary nurses conduct themselves properly and have good working relationships with their colleagues and peers. However sometimes things may happen which lead you to have concerns about a colleague's fitness to practise. If you find yourself in this situation, you may wish to raise those concerns with us.

The easiest way to raise a concern is to fill in a Concerns form. The following information explains what you need to know first and how you should go about this.

The sort of information we need includes:

details about you – your name, address, email address, telephone number and whether you are a veterinary surgeon, nurse or other member of the practice team;

If relevant, details about any animal involved, including name, species, gender,age and details of their owner;

details of the veterinary nurse you wish to complain about.

details about what happened and the reasons why you are concerned;

any supporting documentation, including copies of any correspondence between you and the veterinary nurse, or copies of any clinical records (NB Please do not send original documents in the first instance. If we need these, we will ask for them).

We understand that you may prefer to discuss your concerns with us. If so, you can telephone us on 0207 2273509 or e-mail us at profcon@rcvs.org.uk.

Can I contact you anonymously/confidentially?

Yes, you may contact us anonymously or confidentially using the confidential reporting line on 07599 958294. You can also send an email to reporting@rcvs.org.uk. This is a dedicated service aimed at veterinary surgeons, nurses and other veterinary team members who wish to discuss concerns they have about a colleague.

You should, however, bear in mind that there are generally limitations to what we can do with your concerns if you do not complete a concerns form, consent to your identity being disclosed and provide full details of the incidents that you wish to tell us about. This is because the investigation process requires that the veterinary nurse is given the opportunity to answer any allegations made against him or her. In order to allow the veterinary nurse to do this, they need to know specifically what what the allegations are and who has made them.

Anyone can raise concerns about a veterinary nurse, including clients, colleagues and other veterinary nurses, however this guidance is aimed at veterinary professionals and colleagues who wish to raise concerns about a veterinary nurses. Therefore, if you are a client wishing to raise concerns, please visit our website for animal owners.

What types of concerns can the RCVS deal with?

We can only deal with the most serious concerns that affect a veterinary nurse’s fitness to practise, ie their right to work. This would involve behaviour that has fallen far short of what is expected of a veterinary nurse and would include, for example:

Can I raise concerns about something that happened a number of years ago?

Ordinarily, we will not investigate concerns that are more than two years old. If you wish to tell us about something that happened more than two years ago, you should explain to us why you have not raised your concerns with us before.

The matter will then be referred to the Chairman of the Preliminary Investigation Committee (PIC) and the Head of Professional Conduct, who will decide if we can take it further.

Can you stop a veterinary nurse from working while you look into my Concerns

No – we have no powers of interim suspension.

A decision to stop a veterinary nurse from working can only be made after there has been a full Disciplinary Committee (DC) hearing.

The DC has a range of sanctions that it can impose – removal from the register is only one of these (see flow chart below).

What do I need to do to raise a concern?

You can download this form, complete it electronically and email it back to us, or you can print it out, complete it by hand and post it to us. You can also telephone us to ask us to post a form to you.

It is important you give us as much information as possible. If we don’t have all the information we need, it will take us longer to consider your concerns.

What happens once I’ve sent in my form?

Once you send us your form, you should receive an acknowledgement within two working days to say that we have received it.

A Case Manager will then be assigned. Where you have disclosed your details and the complaint progresses under your name the case manager will generally contact you by telephone within two weeks to discuss your concerns and explain our three-stage investigation process, as set out in the following diagram.

Can I see previous decisions?

All concerns raised with us are confidential unless and until they reach the final stage of our investigation process and are referred to the RCVS Disciplinary Committee (DC) for a (usually) public hearing.